Mayor Dean to Attack College Graduation Rate with Summer Academy

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talks to reports after his speech to the Downtown Rotary Club.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean plans to start a summer academy focused on raising ACT scores and helping students fill out financial aid forms. It’s the first element of his plan to double college graduation rates in five years, a lofty goal he announced during his inaugural address last month.

Speaking to the Downtown Rotary Club, Dean gave a rough sketch of what he’s calling the Scholar’s Academy. It would be six to eight weeks long but also include year-round help.

Asked by reporters if students would voluntarily spend their summers in a classroom, Dean says many will.

“I think there will be a significant number of kids who understand their future depends on them going to college. I think you all here today made a decision when you were in high school you were going to go to college and you were willing to take summer jobs and work hard and go through the process to get in. And I think these kids will do the exact same thing.”

The program would be housed in the downtown library and start next year. Dean has not said how much it might cost or how it would be paid for, except that he hopes private funding will be a part of the program.

Currently, fewer than half of students graduating from Metro Schools go on to college or even a two-year institution. And only about a quarter go on to graduate within six years. That puts Nashville behind comparable cities like Austin and Charlotte. Dean cites statistics that raising the number of degrees in Nashville by just one-percent would generate more than a billion dollars of additional personal income.

The mayor is meeting with representatives from all the major colleges in the area Friday to ask for their buy-in. State systems have already gotten on board. Tennessee Higher Education Commission director Rich Rhoda says doubling the college graduation rate is a high hurdle.

“It’s doable, but it’s not going to happen just by saying it’s a good idea. It’s going to take some focused initiatives like the academy and perhaps others.”

There’s already a statewide goal to double college rates, but not until 2025.